(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
I have some kind of mixed feelings about this book. I did think that the idea was a really interesting one, but I found it very hard to form any real emotional connection to any of the main characters. Even when I thought some of them were intriguing, I found it very difficult to care about what was going to happen to them.
I was interested in the details about the planet and the fungus that grew there. I didn’t really have a clear mental image of any of the characters, so I wasn’t entirely sure how the radiation had changed them physically. I did find it strange (though intriguing) to see how old-Earth language was used. I found myself sounding out the words at times, to see how the language spoken had evolved.
I would have liked some more details about how the clone-children worked and how creating one as a mate could be considered different to the type of relationship Cain had with his mother/stepmother, considering mating a clone-child with the original would kind of be incest… but also a very extreme form of narcissim.
It was interesting to see that marriage had become an outdated practise, since I felt that came across as quite a natural evolution of the society. I was also intrigued by the AIs… and I really liked But-A-Fly, though some of Cain’s interactions with Lucifer were quite amusing to read.
I did feel some sympathy for Lilith, but I couldn’t say I liked her as a character. She seemed very much of an anti-hero than Cain, who at least seemed somewhat bothered when allies were killed… even if I doubt he cared very much about them.
Probably my least favourite character was Eve, as I felt, by the end of the book, she was putting herself first. While I had some sympathy for what she’d gone through, I lost most of that when I felt she hadn’t given the children a real chance to have normal lives and normal relationships.
There was potential in this book, but I felt a lot of it fell by the wayside. I don’t intend to read a sequel to this book if one exists.
Ink of Blood 